Thimble.



A. GIBSON.

THIMBLE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 23' I916.

I 1,255,004. Patented Jan. 29,1918.

AMQWJ ATTORNEY- ALEXANDER GIBSON, 0F ROSEIBROOK, VIA. PORT FAIRY, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF T0 DAVID GIBSON, OF MELBOURNE, VICTORIA,

AUSTRALIA.

THIMBLE.

Patented Jan. 29, 1918.

Application filed. February 23, 1916. Serial No. 79,931.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALEXANDER GIBSON, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at Rosebrook, via Port Fairy, Victoria, Australia, have invented new and useful Improvements in Thimbles; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

This invention relates to improvements in thimbles used by seamstresses, tailors and others in sewing and which are intended to protect the finger when pressure is placed on the needle.

At present,in sewing processes the cotton thread has to be broken or cut when the work in hand is complete, and this necessitates the use of scissors or other means involving putting down the needle and making a break in the work.

it is to overcome this that my invention has been devised, according to which I pro vide a thimble, which may have the ordinary pitted spherical surface or a number of pitted fiat facets, with a slot containing a small knife blade that is adapted to slide therein and project through a narrow slit in the head of the thimble.

But in order to fully understand the invention reference is made to the accompanying drawings in which,

Figure 1 is an elevation of an ordinary thimble fitted with my improvement.

Fig. 2 is a sectional plan on line AB of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 3 is a like View to Fig. l but showing a thimble having a number of fiat facets.

The thimble 4 is made with an inner lining 5 the outer part being'pitted as shown and provided with the longitudinal slot 6 running nearly the whole length of the outer casing or thimble proper. At the upper end the slot is closed but beyond it, in the thimble a slit 7 is made, in the same line as the slot. The latter contains the knife blade 8 which should be made of the best steel and slides in the slot longitudinally. The blade has attached to it a knob or grip coming through the slot and by means of which it can be moved as required. One way of providing such a part is to nick the rear end of the blade and turn up a piece as 9 to come through the slot.

The blade is about the same length as Copies of this patent may be obtained for the slot and when the part 9 is at the lower end of same the knife will be within the thimble, but when the piece 9 is pushed upward the blade will pass through the slit 7 and project from the thimble as shown.

In that position it will be used by the person sewing to cut the thread when the work in hand is complete, or for other purposes such as for removing the threads that temporarily held the pieces together.

The slot and contained blade is applied to the ordinary thimble as shown in Fig. l or to a thimbleas illustrated in Fig. 3 wherein are a number of facets 10 each of which is a plane superficies. By means of same a more certain hold is provided for the needle head and when pressure is applied to force the needle through the work it will be less likely to slip.

When the blade 8 is within the slot and not projecting, the thimble will be similar to the ordinary article and will be used as such. When, however, the blade can be useful to the seamstress the blade is pushed outward without removing the thimble fr'dm the finger and used to sever the thread or for other purposes as indicated while it remains on the finger.

Having now described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In a thimble, an outer casing slotted longitudinally, and having an opening in the head of the casing additional to and in line with the slot; an inner lining closely fitting within the casing; a knife blade housed between the casing and lining in line with the slot, for projection and retraction through the second-named opening.

2. In a thimble, the combination of an outer casing and a lining therefor; a longitudinally extending slot in said casing and an opening near its top; a cutter, slidable longitudinally of the thimble through said opening, and disposed between the casing and the lining, and held in operative and inoperative position thereby.

' In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALEXANDER GIBSON. Witnesses:

P. M. NEWTON, H

A. C. SMITH.

five cents each, by addressing the a science of Patents, Washington, D. 6.? 

